Fortune & Fame: A Novel (13 page)

She sighed. “Really, that’s pretty much it. Even though I’ve officially known this for about a year, I’ve had symptoms for a while. But that’s the challenge with lupus. It has so many symptoms, it affects people in so many different ways, you just never know.”

“How did they diagnose you?”

“I’d been having swelling in my ankles and legs for a while. At first, I thought it was just bad blood circulation because I hadn’t been exercising the way I used to.”

Hosea gave her a small smile. “You?” he asked as if he couldn’t believe it.

And in that moment, memories of the bike rides they’d shared on the trails surrounding Lake Michigan filled her mind. She’d been the one to get him up early to bike, or jog, or go for a leisurely walk—anything to keep moving.

But when he left her, that part of her life stopped. It was like there was no longer any reason to stay in shape without him.

“Yeah,” she said. “I hadn’t been active for a while and the swelling just kept getting worse and worse. It wasn’t until I became concerned about my urine, which suddenly darkened, that the doctor was finally able to give me a diagnosis.”

“And the prognosis?”

She shrugged. “Most people who are diagnosed live at least five years. Over seventy percent live over twenty years. What complicates my situation is my kidneys. The doctors have prepared me. This could suddenly get very serious, and when it does . . .” She paused and took a deep breath. “This is a death sentence for me.”

Hosea shook his head. “No, we have to get a second opinion.”

For the first time, the smile that had filled her heart since she’d first laid her eyes on him this morning, made it to her lips. It was the way he said, “we,” that gave her joy.

“I’ve done that already. I went to a second and then a third doctor. And each told me the same thing.”

“So, what are you supposed to do?”

“Well, they’re managing my symptoms with all kinds of medications, but my doctor’s main goal is to do everything we can to delay the degeneration of my kidneys. The thing is, it’s inevitable. It’s only a matter of time before I have kidney failure.”

“Okay, so besides your medicine, what else can you do?”

“Take it easy, reduce stress, all the things that we should be doing anyway.”

Hosea nodded, though Natasia could tell that he was deep in thought.

He said, “Wait, I forgot to ask. What are you doing here? Are you seeing doctors in Atlanta?”

She frowned deeply. “No, my doctor is still in Chicago, though I will need someone here. I’m in Atlanta because of the show.”

“What show?”

And right then, she knew the truth. Jasmine was a liar, though the real truth was, she knew that already. “I’m the executive producer on
First Ladies.
I thought you knew.”

“No!” Hosea shook his head repeatedly as if he was never going to stop. “I didn’t know.”

“Jasmine told me that she’d told you.”

The way his eyes narrowed, the way his nostrils flared just a little, made Natasia want to jump up, throw her hands in the air, and give herself a high five. She wondered what else she could say, what could she add, that might take his anger up another notch.

But instead, she played it safe. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I just thought . . . look, Hosea. I’m not here to cause any problems for you and Jasmine. It’s just that I didn’t have anywhere else to go.” She lowered her head; at first, just for effect. But when she felt the tears ready to burst through, she let them flow. Because the tears and the words she’d just spoken were real.

She
didn’t
have anywhere else to go. After her parents’ death in an automobile crash when she was a teenager, and her first fiancé’s death in a bungie-jumping accident, she’d promised herself that she was never going to take the chance of loving again. Clearly loving her back was dangerous—it meant death to anyone who did.

But then, she’d met Hosea. And that’s when she knew that her parents and even her fiancé were up there looking down on her. They’d opened up heaven and sent her an angel. Someone to be with her forever so that she’d never be alone.

But forever hadn’t lasted very long and when Hosea left her, it felt like death all over again.

That’s why she’d never accepted him leaving and had worked so hard to get him back, setting it all up so that she was hired to work on Hosea’s TV show,
Bring It On,
while it was being filmed in Los Angeles. But when Hosea rejected her again, Natasia had given up and in the six years since he’d had her fired, she’d lived life like she was on an island alone.

That life and these years had been fine with her. She was
a strong, independent woman who didn’t need a man nor friends, and not even God since He’d allowed so many bad things to invade her life.

But the prospect of death being so close quickly changed her perspective. She was no longer strong and she didn’t want to be independent. She felt like the end of her life could very well be waiting for her right across the street, and she was afraid to face it by herself.

“Natasia!” Hosea raised his voice just a little, as if he’d been calling her name for a while.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“I said, I know you’re not here to cause problems for me. You don’t have to worry about me thinking that.” He paused and peered at her. “Are you all right?”

She nodded. “I am. It’s just that I’m a little overwhelmed with it all.” She lowered her eyes and looked up at him through her eyelashes, a gesture that she remembered he loved. “Thank you,” she said as she fluttered her lashes.

He stared at her for an extra moment, inhaled, then let go of her hands before he looked away. He gave himself a couple of seconds to breathe before he turned back, all business once again. “Do you think you should be working? Maybe you should be taking it easy. Take some time off.”

She shook her head. “I can’t do that. I can’t sit around and wait for death to come. I’m going to fight it, Hosea.” She paused and read his eyes. “Especially now that you know. Especially now that I have you on my side.”

Not even a second ticked by before he said, “You do have me, you know that, don’t you?”

She nodded.

“I’m going to be here for you all the way.”

“Thank you, because without you . . .” She stopped as if the words she wanted to say were stuck in her throat.

“Oh, Natasia,” he said softly. “Come here.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “You never have to worry about being alone. You’ll never be alone again.”

His words, his arms made her feel safe, safer than she’d felt in years. But still she sobbed. Because she finally had someone. Hosea was going to be there for her all the way.

Just like she knew he would.

H
oneyyy!” Rachel squealed as she ran into her husband’s arms at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Yes, she was being a little extra for the cameras, but she really did miss her husband.

Lester hugged her tightly but lost his smile when he noticed the camera panning around, capturing their embrace. “Ummm, what’s that?”

Rachel leaned in close to his ear and whispered. “Reality shows film everything. Just go with it.”

Lester didn’t bother hiding his displeasure as he pulled her to the side, out of the camera shot. The cameraman, Chauncey, must’ve sensed the tension because he lowered his equipment and motioned for the sound and lighting guys to do the same.

Rachel knew she probably shouldn’t have ambushed her husband like this, but if she had told him, he would’ve nixed it.

“Rachel,” Lester began. “You know I don’t like this.”

“Aww, come on, sweetie.” She flashed a seductive smile at him. “It’s no big deal.”

He set his briefcase—an expensive leather attaché that
Rachel had never seen before—down on a nearby chair. “Rachel, it’s one thing for you to be on this show. I told you how I feel.”

Rachel stepped toward him and adjusted his bowtie, something else that he’d taken up since becoming president of the American Baptist Coalition. “And I told you. I need you.” Rachel had told her husband about Jasmine, but she’d wanted to wait to tell him about Mary face-to-face. She wanted to make sure they’d taped a couple of episodes. Because of all the drama they’d had with Mary in the past, he would try to put his foot down and demand that she not take part. Rachel used to be able to manipulate Lester and make him do whatever she wanted, but those days were long gone, especially now that he was president of the ABC. Now, in addition to an improved wardrobe, he was always trying to prove that he was “the man of the house.” She let him think he was most of the time. It’s not that she’d become completely submissive (never that), but in the ten years that they’d been married, she knew how to get what she wanted from her husband.

“Hosea’s doing it,” Rachel lied.

“What?” Shock registered across Lester’s face.

Now was the time to throw on her pouty face. (Okay, maybe she did still manipulate Lester from time to time.) “Yes, Hosea wants to do whatever he can to support Jasmine. And sweetie, she is really trying to steal my thunder.”

“Rachel,” he sighed.

She shrugged, hurt that he didn’t believe her. “Okay, you’ll see for yourself.”

“I just don’t understand why you two can’t just bury the hatchet and move on. It’s like I don’t know if you’re friends or foes.”

“You and me both,” Rachel replied, sucking her teeth. She was definitely starting to believe Jasmine was not to be trusted. And to think she’d thought they’d developed some type of
sisterly bond. “But the fact remains that Hosea is on board,” Rachel continued. “I mean, he didn’t talk or anything, but he is on camera.”

Lester paused like he was thinking. He admired Hosea greatly, to the point that it was sickening. The first time they’d met, Rachel had been furious because Lester acted like he was meeting Barack Obama. But right now, she’d call Barack herself if it meant getting Lester on board.

“Okay, fine,” he said, relaxing. “I trust Hosea’s judgment.”

Rachel put her hands on her hips and cocked her head. “But you don’t trust mine?”

He smiled. “Okay, sweetheart. We both know sometimes your judgment is a little skewed.”

She turned back to Chauncey. “You can continue filming.”

“So, how was your flight?” Rachel said, her voice raising several octaves as she got into character.

Lester laughed as he shook his head. “It was fine.”

“Well, the limo is out front.”

Lester lowered his voice. “A limo, Rachel?”

She leaned in. “I told you to go with it. As long as the cameras are rolling, we don’t drive ourselves anywhere. Although I did rent a gorgeous white Range Rover in the event that we do have to drive.”

“What?”

“Oh, don’t worry, OWN is paying for it,” she lied again. She actually didn’t like lying to Lester, but sometimes the lie was easier than the truth.

Lester looked like he didn’t want to argue either, because he just grabbed his briefcase, then took Rachel’s hand. “Look, I just came to see my beautiful wife, handle some ABC business—”

Rachel didn’t let him finish. “Great, I was thinking I could come and take part in the meeting and we could film some of that.”

“Absolutely not,” Lester said sternly. He turned his back to block the camera. “You have your own agenda with the ABC and you’re doing a great job. This is a financial board meeting and the last thing we’re going to do is have cameras rolling.”

She waved him off. Not a battle worth fighting. She’d just find something else to film. She scooted Lester back her side and smiled widely. “Okay, darling. Come on. I can’t wait for you to see the house.”

“I still can’t believe you rented a house without me seeing it,” Lester said once they were in the car and on their way to their North Atlanta–area home.

“I told you to come down and help me pick it out.”

“Rachel, I run a national organization and I pastor a church, I’m kinda busy. I’m sorry I couldn’t fit it into my schedule.”

“Well, you’re here now.” Rachel scooted in closer to Lester, snuggling up next to him. The last thing she was about to do was get into it with Lester in front of the cameras. “I can’t wait for you to see our new home.”

Twenty minutes later, they were pulling up to the palatial estate. When Rachel found out Jasmine had rented a four-thousand-square-foot home, she’d had to one-up her and get a seven-thousand-square-foot home. Of course, where Jasmine was from, four thousand square feet seemed like a big deal, but in Texas you could find four thousand square feet in the ’hood. No, real homes were Texas-size. Real homes were
this
.

“Really, Rachel?” Lester said as they got out of the limo.

He looked over at the camera, which was already set up and filming. “Don’t look at the camera, baby,” Rachel said. “Everything is supposed to be natural.”

“Oh, good grief,” Lester replied.

“Can you get our bags, Farnsworth?” Rachel loudly told the limo driver.

“Is his name really Farnsworth?” Lester whispered.

Rachel shrugged. “I don’t know, but doesn’t it sound regal?”

Lester laughed. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Love me,” she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him up the walkway.

“Let us go in first,” Chauncey said, as he and the sound and lighting guys scurried ahead of them.

Lester and Rachel waited a few minutes, then walked inside.

Lester gasped the minute he set foot in the massive foyer. “Whoa, this is bigger than our house in Houston.”

“Yes, and as soon as our taping wraps up, we’re going to have to talk about that.” Rachel loved her home in Houston, but
this
, this was how stars lived. The grand foyer with a rotunda led to a large formal living area. The chef’s kitchen featured two islands and custom finishes. The family room led to an exterior veranda overlooking an immaculately landscaped backyard and pool.

“Did you know this home used to belong to one of Evander Holyfield’s baby mamas?” Rachel asked. “We’re renting, but I personally think we need to make an offer and make this our permanent Atlanta home.”